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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — a match
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cold — an illness
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a skill
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. club — for golf
  15. spring — a coil
  16. craft — boats
  17. key — the most important part
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. key — in music
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — a group
  22. cold — not warm
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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