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: straw · court · toast · hide · lean · cell · clip · trunk

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cell — a phone
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. toast — bread
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lean — to bend
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — to cut
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — of law
  19. lean — thin
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. court — of a king
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. straw — a straw man

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