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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in biology
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — to cut
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pop — music
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to click
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. clip — a video
  22. shower — rain
  23. pop — soda
  24. wave — of the sea

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