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: cue · present · wake · rest · straw · drill · content · snap

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. snap — to click
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — happy
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. cue — a hint
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. present — a gift
  13. cue — a signal
  14. rest — a break
  15. present — there
  16. drill — a practice
  17. present — the time now
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wake — a trail

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