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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mine — for digging
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. clip — a video
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mate — a partner
  9. kid — to tease
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. date — the fruit
  19. kid — child
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. shower — rain
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mate — a friend
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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