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 116 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 · court · suit · mate · staff · content · spell · straw

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. mate — to breed
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spell — magic
  7. content — happy
  8. spell — letters
  9. shower — rain
  10. suit — clothes
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. court — of law
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. suit — in cards
  18. mate — a partner
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — to wash
  21. court — of a king
  22. staff — a stick
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mate — a friend

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