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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. net — after costs
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — the season
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. net — for catching
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — a video
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — low music
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. swing — in golf
  19. date — the fruit
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — the instrument

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