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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. pass — a permit
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — a cake
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. roll — a list
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. present — there
  15. last — finally
  16. saw — the tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. present — a gift
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — a video

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