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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — final
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — the cause
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bear — the animal
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a match
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. root — of a word
  24. wind — moving air

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