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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — to cut
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. land — ground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — a country
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — an amount
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — a series
  24. wound — an injury

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