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 116 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's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pop — music
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — clever
  18. pound — a weight
  19. clip — a video
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pop — soda
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. rush — to hurry

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