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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. present — a gift
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. object — to protest
  6. snap — to click
  7. object — a thing
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. rash — hasty
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — a coil
  15. object — an aim
  16. rash — a series
  17. present — the time now
  18. spring — the season
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. clip — a video
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. clip — for paper
  24. present — there

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