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 124 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. file — a tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a document
  13. net — after costs
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. file — a line of people
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — a box
  23. branch — a division
  24. net — in sport

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