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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — the arms race
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. net — in sport
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — after costs
  10. ground — a position
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. race — humankind
  18. content — the amount
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mark — a trace
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mark — a grade
  24. race — a contest

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