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: chest · straw · nail · present · hide · net · cold · ball

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. present — a gift
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. present — there
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. present — the time now
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — after costs
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — in sport
  24. chest — a box

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