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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — music
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. key — for a lock
  8. kid — to tease
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. key — in music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — to play on
  16. key — the most important part
  17. object — a thing
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — a video
  22. object — an aim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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