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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to click
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. present — there
  7. craft — boats
  8. fine — all right
  9. chest — a box
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. present — the time now
  18. fine — high quality
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. spell — magic
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. clip — a video
  24. spell — letters

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