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: spell · mate · spring · bat · perch · clip · deal · pound

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. perch — the fish
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. spring — the season
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. spell — letters
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. mate — a friend
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pound — a weight
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spell — magic

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