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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mate — to breed
  4. net — after costs
  5. bound — tied together
  6. rest — a break
  7. game — wild animals
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mate — a friend
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mate — a partner
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rest — what's left
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — for catching
  21. bound — certain
  22. spring — of water
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. game — a match

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