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: spring · deal · date · squash · jam · clip · roll · bat

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. clip — a video
  4. roll — a cake
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — for paper
  7. squash — to crush
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. spring — the season
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. spring — of water
  17. roll — a list
  18. squash — the sport
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. deal — to handle
  23. date — the fruit
  24. roll — on a roll

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