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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. track — a path
  3. mug — a face
  4. land — to come down
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — a leader
  7. track — a song
  8. land — ground
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. land — a country
  12. wake — a trail
  13. mug — a cup
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mug — to rob
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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