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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. suit — to fit
  4. net — after costs
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. suit — clothes
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kick — in football
  19. suit — in cards
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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