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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kid — child
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cap — a lid
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a tool
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a document
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cap — a hat

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