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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — to handle
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chest — a box
  10. bound — obliged
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. clip — to cut
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — a video
  22. fall — the season
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — to drop

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