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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. craft — a skill
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bat — the animal
  11. craft — boats
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. toast — bread
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. craft — a handicraft

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