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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. spring — the season
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. land — ground
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chip — for betting
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — to cut
  16. land — to come down
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spring — of water
  19. stand — to bear
  20. snap — to click
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bat — in an idiom

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