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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. fall — to drop
  5. content — happy
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — to cut
  23. track — a path
  24. content — the amount

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