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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rule — a law
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chest — a box
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — a video
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. rule — government
  20. ball — a dance
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitcher — a jug

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