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 116 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: bear · straw · clip · rock · hand · lash · game · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. hand — help
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — music
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. clip — a video
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. lash — an eyelash

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