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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spell — letters
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spell — magic
  16. file — a document
  17. pit — in a race
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. file — a tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bound — certain
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bound — tied together

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