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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — not warm
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — a leader
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bound — certain
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bound — tied together

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