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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. present — a gift
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. suit — clothes
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. present — the time now
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — money
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — the sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — to cut
  16. suit — to fit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. lie — to recline
  20. spring — a coil
  21. present — there
  22. squash — to crush
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lie — an untruth

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