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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bat — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. spell — a short time
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. spell — letters
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — a skill
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. craft — boats
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cold — not warm

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