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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. clip — a video
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. face — to confront
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. fall — to drop
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fall — the season
  17. current — of water
  18. dip — to sink
  19. current — happening now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hand — in cards
  24. current — electric

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