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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. row — to paddle
  3. spring — a coil
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rush — hurry
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. key — in music
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spring — of water
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bat — the animal
  21. row — a line
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rush — a thrill

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