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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cue — a signal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cue — a hint
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — in sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. staff — employees
  18. chest — a box
  19. cue — for pool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fall — the season
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. staff — a stick
  24. net — after costs

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