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: chair · date · straw · fall · pitcher · rest · bass · ground

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rest — a break
  9. bass — the fish
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ground — the earth
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. straw — dry grass

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