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's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — of the year
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. root — of a word
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lean — thin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. season — in sport
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to bend

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