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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tear — from crying
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spring — of water
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. face — to confront
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to point toward
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pitch — completely
  24. stand — for spectators

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