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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mark — a grade
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. charge — a price
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hand — in cards
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. charge — in control

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