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 116 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rash — hasty
  4. tube — the underground
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. face — to confront
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rash — a series
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. clip — a video
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. clip — for paper
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — for catching
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — to cut

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