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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. ground — a position
  4. track — a path
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pop — soda
  9. fall — to drop
  10. band — a music group
  11. track — a song
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — a video
  16. fall — the season
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — to visit
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. track — to keep track
  23. band — a ring
  24. pop — music

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