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 116 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — for dancing
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — a trail
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mug — to rob
  20. game — a match
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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