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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — a video
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. clip — for paper
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — a series
  17. tear — to rip
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. can — a tin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. clip — to cut

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