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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. swing — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — a video
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pound — a weight
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — from crying

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