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 124 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. root — of a word
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lean — to bend
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lean — thin
  11. band — a music group
  12. root — the cause
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. band — a ring
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. root — of a plant
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. band — a rubber band

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