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: clip · track · chest · object · rock · ground · bat · straw

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. object — an aim
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. track — a path
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. clip — a video
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. ground — crushed
  24. object — to protest

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