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 124 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — money
  3. clip — to cut
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. net — after costs
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — in sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. clip — a video
  24. tear — from crying

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