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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lean — thin
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — of a king
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. court — for sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — to add flavour

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