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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spring — of water
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lean — thin
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lean — to bend
  14. clip — a video
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. track — a song
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — help
  24. stem — of a plant

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