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 120 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bore — to drill
  3. branch — a division
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — to tire
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. squash — the sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. branch — of a tree

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