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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spell — letters
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — to go on
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. clip — a video
  15. last — final
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — magic
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wax — to grow

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