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: ball · date · clip · field · wave · spring · roll · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. roll — a list
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — a video
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ball — a great time
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. date — the fruit
  17. roll — a cake
  18. ball — a dance
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — of water
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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