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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. spring — the season
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chip — for betting
  13. spring — of water
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wake — a trail
  18. chip — to eat
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spring — a coil

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