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: key · shower · roll · clip · squash · bat · dip · file

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. key — the most important part
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. shower — to wash
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. shower — rain
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a line of people
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. key — in music
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. key — for a lock
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bat — the animal

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