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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — for paper
  4. scale — in music
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. drill — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — the animal
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — a practice
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. fine — high quality
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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