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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rock — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — after costs
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rash — a series
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bat — the animal
  24. straw — dry grass

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