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: staff · fall · chest · straw · cell · toast · lash · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. toast — bread
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — the season
  13. staff — a stick
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chest — a box
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. ground — a position
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. staff — employees

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