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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. season — of the year
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. clip — to cut
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — for digging
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. kick — in football
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fork — in a road
  20. band — a ring
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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