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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. hand — in cards
  4. file — a tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. file — a line of people
  12. swing — in golf
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. swing — music
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — hurry
  24. mouse — the animal

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