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: dip · deal · lean · squash · present · mine · bass · clip

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. present — a gift
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lean — to bend
  16. present — the time now
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. present — there
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the sport
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. clip — for paper

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