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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. clip — for paper
  5. field — farmland
  6. pop — music
  7. charge — in control
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. snap — to click
  10. pop — soda
  11. field — for sport
  12. charge — a price
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. field — a subject
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. charge — electricity
  24. stand — for spectators

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