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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — a video
  10. last — finally
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. game — a match
  13. last — final
  14. fork — in a road
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — for paper
  19. date — the fruit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. game — wild animals

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