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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mine — for digging
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. staff — employees
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — to grow
  21. staff — employees
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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