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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mate — to breed
  5. stock — goods
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stock — shares
  13. clip — for paper
  14. snap — to click
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — to cut
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — a video
  24. hand — help

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