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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. root — of a plant
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. snap — to click
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — for paper
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. root — the cause
  11. cap — a hat
  12. clip — a video
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cap — a lid
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spring — of water
  20. root — of a word
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spring — the season
  23. cap — of ice
  24. chest — a box

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