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: shower · wake · chair · deal · present · clip · straw · last

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wake — a trail
  7. last — to go on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. clip — for paper
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. deal — to handle
  17. clip — a video
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — a gift
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chair — a leader
  24. clip — to cut

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