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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. race — humankind
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — a subject
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. race — the arms race
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. court — for sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — to cut
  24. race — a contest

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