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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. content — happy
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lean — thin
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. lean — to bend
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. field — farmland
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. content — the amount
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. field — for sport
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. field — a subject
  19. pass — a permit
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pass — to succeed

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