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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cue — a signal
  7. shower — rain
  8. stock — shares
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stock — goods
  24. craft — boats

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