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: clip · chest · fall · scale · staff · charge · straw · prune

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. clip — for paper
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — electricity
  6. fall — to drop
  7. staff — employees
  8. scale — size or range
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — in music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. charge — a price
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. clip — a video
  22. staff — a stick
  23. charge — in control
  24. clip — to cut

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