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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — to tease
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — child
  15. wake — a trail
  16. clip — a video
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wake — before a funeral

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