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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. key — for a lock
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. key — the most important part
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — for sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. foot — a measure
  16. hand — in cards
  17. key — in music
  18. clip — a video
  19. field — a subject
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — farmland
  24. hand — help

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