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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. object — an aim
  4. race — a contest
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pop — music
  7. race — the arms race
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — humankind
  11. roll — a cake
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. object — to protest
  14. roll — a list
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pop — to visit
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pop — soda
  19. spring — the season
  20. object — a thing
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mate — to breed

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