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: clip · lean · fan · stem · ball · cold · shower · kick

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. shower — rain
  23. clip — a video
  24. ball — a great time

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