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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — an illness
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. swing — to play on
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. snap — to click
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fork — in a road
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mate — a friend

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