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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — in cards
  4. shower — to wash
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — for paper
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — a video
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rule — a law
  23. cell — a phone
  24. drill — army training

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