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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. can — a tin
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to tire
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — to drop
  14. can — a tin
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — to cut
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bore — to drill
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wound — an injury

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