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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rash — a series
  7. track — a song
  8. clip — a video
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. track — a path
  11. clip — for paper
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — an illness
  24. clip — to cut

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