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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. key — for a lock
  4. shower — to wash
  5. deal — to handle
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ground — crushed
  8. shower — rain
  9. branch — a division
  10. key — the most important part
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — money
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ground — a position
  15. key — in music
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — the earth
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. scale — in music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. scale — size or range
  24. straw — dry grass

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