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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. mine — for digging
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bass — low music
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — to handle
  17. clip — a video
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  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