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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. face — to confront
  4. band — a ring
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rest — what's left
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rest — a break
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. snap — to click
  12. face — to point toward
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. present — the time now
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. present — a gift
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. present — there
  21. band — a music group
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rock — a stone

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