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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. fine — high quality
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — the most important part
  4. content — the amount
  5. hand — help
  6. content — happy
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — to play on
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fine — all right
  12. object — a thing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. object — an aim
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. key — in music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. object — to protest
  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