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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — finally
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. degree — an amount
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — clever
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. last — to go on
  24. mouse — for a computer

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