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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. court — for sport
  4. track — a song
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. rock — music
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of a king
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. land — ground
  24. mine — belonging to me

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