ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bound — tied together
  4. ball — a dance
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bound — certain
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. club — for golf
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. face — to confront
  20. bound — obliged
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lie — to recline
  24. face — to point toward

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com