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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rest — a break
  3. snap — to click
  4. clip — for paper
  5. shower — rain
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. rest — what's left
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pop — soda
  17. clip — a video
  18. cap — of ice
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cap — a hat
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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