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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — a short time
  3. vault — a safe
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rest — what's left
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spell — letters
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. staff — employees
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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