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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. staff — employees
  7. kid — to tease
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. clip — a video
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — child

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