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: pop · field · rest · straw · kid · wake · shower · bass

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rest — what's left
  3. kid — child
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wake — a trail
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — the fish
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. shower — to wash
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. field — for sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — a subject
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rest — a break
  22. pop — music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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