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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cell — a phone
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. firm — a company
  10. band — a music group
  11. fork — in a road
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a ring
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. present — the time now
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cell — in biology

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