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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spell — magic
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cap — of ice
  9. clip — to cut
  10. land — to come down
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — a hat
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — letters
  22. land — a country
  23. foot — a measure
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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