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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. clip — to cut
  4. snap — to click
  5. spell — letters
  6. rule — government
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — a law
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. clip — a video

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