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: game · hide · mark · straw · sharp · row · spell · trunk

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mark — a trace
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spell — letters
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — a match
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mark — a grade
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — a line

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