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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — low music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — a video
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hand — help
  10. clip — to cut
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mark — a trace
  15. drill — the tool
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bore — to tire
  19. drill — army training
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mark — a grade

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