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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. row — a line
  8. game — a match
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — wild animals
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — to paddle
  18. sharp — clever
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rule — a law
  21. stock — shares
  22. rule — government
  23. stock — goods
  24. bass — the fish

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