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 · cold · stick · bulb · kid · stand · march · staff

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stand — to bear
  10. march — music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. staff — employees
  21. march — the month
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. staff — a stick
  24. kid — child

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