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 stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. hand — in cards
  4. root — of a word
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. present — there
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to click
  10. prune — to trim
  11. present — a gift
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. present — the time now
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — help
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. prune — to trim
  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