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: rest · bass · pop · straw · field · season · mug · cold

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — an illness
  4. season — in sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. season — of the year
  7. pop — music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mug — a cup
  13. field — for sport
  14. mug — a face
  15. field — farmland
  16. bass — low music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. mug — to rob
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pop — to visit
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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