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: toast · stand · spell · cell · snap · kick · clip · wind

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. snap — to click
  10. spell — letters
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kick — in football
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. toast — bread
  21. clip — a video
  22. wind — moving air
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. toast — the most admired

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