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 124 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. file — a document
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — of water
  6. track — a path
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. object — to protest
  12. spring — the season
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. hand — in cards
  18. track — to keep track
  19. hand — help
  20. object — an aim
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spring — a coil

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