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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. ball — a great time
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. chair — a leader
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bat — the animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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