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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. clip — for paper
  6. object — to protest
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mark — a trace
  9. object — an aim
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chip — to eat
  14. object — a thing
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. clip — a video

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