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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. club — a group
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. club — for dancing
  10. ball — a dance
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kick — in football
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. club — for golf
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. clip — to cut

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