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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — to breed
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — for dancing
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — a group
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — for golf
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mate — a friend
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. shower — rain
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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