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: bat · rock · march · toast · vault · chip · chest · straw

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bat — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. march — music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. toast — bread
  13. chest — of your body
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — a box
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — for betting
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. march — the month

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