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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spell — letters
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rule — a law
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. staff — employees
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. march — music
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. spell — magic
  13. staff — employees
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rule — government
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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