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's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. swing — to play on
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. dip — to sink
  9. cap — of ice
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mine — for digging
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. sharp — clever

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