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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — a group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. club — for golf
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. branch — a division
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cell — a phone
  24. chest — a box

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