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 116 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: rest · object · last · net · squash · pitch · fan · clip

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. last — final
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — a break
  8. net — after costs
  9. object — a thing
  10. pitch — completely
  11. last — finally
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. last — to go on
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — to cut
  19. net — for catching
  20. object — an aim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. net — in sport

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