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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — to cut
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. net — after costs
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. net — in sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. swing — to play on
  23. clip — a video
  24. cabinet — ministers

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