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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. present — a gift
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. present — the time now
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. foot — a measure
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — a phone
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. capital — a city
  14. vault — a safe
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. capital — money
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. present — there

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