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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. track — to keep track
  4. roll — a cake
  5. root — the cause
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — a path
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fine — all right
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — moving air
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. roll — a list
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. root — of a word
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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