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: mate · board · mine · suit · chair · swing · cold · straw

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. suit — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. swing — in golf
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chair — a leader
  15. board — a committee
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mate — a partner
  18. swing — music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — to breed
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. board — to get on
  24. cold — an illness

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