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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. object — to protest
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. roll — a cake
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mine — for digging
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. object — a thing
  12. face — to point toward
  13. swing — in golf
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cap — of ice
  16. roll — a list
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. swing — music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. cap — a hat
  22. object — an aim
  23. perch — the fish
  24. face — part of the head

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