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: row · kid · pitcher · land · cabinet · straw · bass · root

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. land — ground
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. land — to come down
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bass — the fish
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — of a word
  20. kid — child
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — the cause
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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