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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lean — to bend
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. chest — a box
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tube — a container
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — a video
  24. swing — music

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