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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. clip — for paper
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — completely
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rash — a series
  11. game — a match
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. clip — a video
  19. foot — a measure
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fan — to cool the air

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