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 120 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 · wave · scale · clip · prune · bat · fine · patient

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fine — all right
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. scale — in music
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. scale — size or range
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. hand — in cards
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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