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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. key — the most important part
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — a video
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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