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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rock — a stone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — an illness
  21. perch — the fish
  22. chip — to eat
  23. rock — music
  24. ball — a great time

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