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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. chest — of your body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — to cut
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — for paper
  13. chest — a box
  14. bound — certain
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — in sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. net — after costs
  20. bound — obliged
  21. season — in sport
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — a video

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