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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. swing — to play on
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — an injury
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — a video
  9. capital — money
  10. clip — for paper
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — music
  16. spring — of water
  17. saw — the tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. spring — the season
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. swing — in golf
  24. saw — the tool

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