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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — magic
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ball — a dance
  7. clip — a video
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. content — happy
  12. hand — in cards
  13. content — the amount
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a great time
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — letters
  24. ball — a round shape

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