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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — for dancing
  6. season — of the year
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — for golf
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. club — a group
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — in sport
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. clip — to cut
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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