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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hand — in cards
  3. stem — to come from
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — a video
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — in golf
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — to play on
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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