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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. track — a path
  9. shower — to wash
  10. track — a song
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. shower — rain
  14. sharp — clever
  15. rock — music
  16. snap — to click
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. track — to keep track

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