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: straw · swing · season · bat · wound · chair · bass · root

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. swing — music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. season — of the year
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. root — the cause
  12. bass — the fish
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. season — in sport
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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