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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — after costs
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. lean — to bend
  9. net — in sport
  10. lean — thin
  11. spring — of water
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kick — in football
  14. spring — a coil
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. spring — the season
  19. net — for catching
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. lean — to rest against

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