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: cap · arm · chest · tear · ball · prune · stand · clip

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cap — a hat
  11. clip — a video
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ball — a dance
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chest — a box
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stand — to bear
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chest — of your body
  24. prune — the fruit

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