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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · perch · pit · kick · snap · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. perch — the fish
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. chest — a box
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pit — in a race
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill

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