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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — to cut
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fall — the season
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fall — to drop
  14. capital — a city
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — money
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. snap — to click
  24. kick — in football

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