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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. craft — a skill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. craft — boats
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. clip — to cut
  24. straw — a straw man

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