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: ball · lash · clip · mug · club · track · bat · spell

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spell — letters
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. track — a song
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spell — magic
  12. mug — a cup
  13. clip — to cut
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — a video
  16. spell — a short time
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. club — for golf
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ball — a great time
  21. track — a path
  22. mug — a face
  23. club — for dancing
  24. lash — to lash out

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