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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. march — the month
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cell — in biology
  11. board — a committee
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — to get on
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. march — music

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