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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — in football
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. clip — for paper
  17. game — a match
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — a thrill

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