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: track · cold · squash · bat · vault · mouse · straw · arm

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — a safe
  9. squash — to crush
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. track — to keep track
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. track — a path
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bat — in an idiom

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