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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mate — a partner
  6. saw — the tool
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mate — a friend
  16. root — of a word
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. root — the cause
  19. rash — a series
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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