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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. mug — a face
  2. club — a group
  3. object — a thing
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — for golf
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. row — a line
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. object — an aim
  12. club — for dancing
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. object — to protest
  15. mug — a cup
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mug — to rob
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — not warm
  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