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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — a video
  4. cell — a phone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rest — a break
  10. rash — a series
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of a king
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chip — for betting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cell — in a prison

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