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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. track — to keep track
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. board — a committee
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chest — a box
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hand — in cards
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — of your body
  23. track — a song
  24. clip — a video

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