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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — for digging
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kid — child
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. row — a line
  24. leaves — of a tree

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