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 124 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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. tube — a container
  5. object — to protest
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. object — an aim
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tube — the underground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. roll — a list
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. object — a thing
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fall — the season
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sports field

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