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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — for paper
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pass — a permit
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — an illness
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. track — to keep track
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. track — a song
  21. clip — to cut
  22. track — a path
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. club — a group

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