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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — a division
  5. clip — for paper
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. spring — a coil
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. band — a ring
  11. spring — the season
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — to handle
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — a video
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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