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 120 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: straw · last · prune · march · rush · cold · saw · lean

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — music
  4. rush — hurry
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — final
  9. saw — the tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cold — not warm
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. lean — to bend
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lean — thin
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lean — to rest against

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