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: march · wake · rush · straw · chest · mate · clip · row

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — music
  15. chest — a box
  16. march — the month
  17. mate — to breed
  18. rush — hurry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mate — a friend

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