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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. land — ground
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — an illness
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — in sport
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. suit — to fit
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. suit — clothes
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. suit — in cards
  24. cold — not warm

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