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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — a video
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. clip — to cut
  16. snap — to click
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spring — of water

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