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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bat — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — a video
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. staff — employees
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spring — the season
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — a coil

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