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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spell — a short time
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — magic
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mate — a friend
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spell — letters
  20. roll — a cake
  21. dip — to sink
  22. roll — a list
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. fork — to eat with

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