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 · saw · snap · season · file · game · roll · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. season — in sport
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. file — a document
  13. roll — a list
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. saw — the tool
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. saw — the tool
  19. roll — a cake
  20. file — a line of people
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — a kind of play

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