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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. game — a match
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — letters
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bank — for money
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — a short time
  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