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 · hide · last · chair · roll · net · tube · pitch

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. last — final
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. net — after costs
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitch — completely
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. roll — a list
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. net — in sport
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. roll — a cake
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tube — in a tire

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