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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. content — happy
  4. clip — to cut
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. root — the cause
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. drill — army training
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — of ice
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — a practice
  15. hand — help
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cap — a hat
  20. content — the amount
  21. cap — a lid
  22. drill — the tool
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. root — of a word

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