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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bound — certain
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. toast — bread
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. race — a contest
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rush — hurry
  21. race — humankind
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. arm — part of the body

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