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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. kick — in football
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. clip — a video
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tear — to rip
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. clip — to cut
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — for paper
  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