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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. club — a group
  4. clip — a video
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. can — a tin
  8. snap — to click
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. club — for golf

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