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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. race — a contest
  4. board — to get on
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — to paddle
  12. race — the arms race
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — newspapers
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. squash — the sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. shower — rain
  22. race — humankind
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — dry grass

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