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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · foot · field · chair · march · hand · toast · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chair — a leader
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — a subject
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hand — help
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. field — for sport
  14. foot — a measure
  15. hand — in cards
  16. toast — bread
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. march — music
  23. bat — the animal
  24. toast — the most admired

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