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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wake — a trail
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. clip — to cut
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rush — hurry
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. field — farmland
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. clip — for paper

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