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 120 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: season · kid · tube · lean · spring · straw · charge · wind

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. kid — to tease
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. charge — in control
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. tube — a container
  14. spring — the season
  15. season — in sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. season — of the year
  23. kid — child
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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