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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. clip — to cut
  3. field — farmland
  4. cue — for pool
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — a video
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rash — hasty
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — a match
  11. rash — a series
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cue — a hint
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bound — certain
  16. cue — a signal
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. field — for sport
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rash — on the skin

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