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: hand · swing · root · arm · snap · wind · roll · season

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. roll — a cake
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. root — of a plant
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. swing — in golf
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. roll — a list
  16. root — of a word
  17. snap — to click
  18. root — the cause
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. swing — music
  24. hand — in cards

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