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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — of law
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — for paper
  8. capital — money
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — for sport
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. staff — employees
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. staff — a stick
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — shares
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. staff — employees
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. stock — goods
  22. court — of a king
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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