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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. board — a committee
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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