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: lean · mate · cell · straw · game · mine · file · rest

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a document
  5. game — a match
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rest — a break
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — to breed
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. lean — thin
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cell — in biology

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