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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. clip — to cut
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. club — a group
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. club — for dancing
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. clip — for paper
  17. lean — to bend
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. squash — the sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lean — thin
  23. club — for golf
  24. wound — an injury

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