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: snap · pit · bass · clip · rest · prune · chest · kick

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. kick — in football
  11. chest — a box
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. snap — to click
  15. rest — a break
  16. bass — the fish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  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