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: pitcher · clip · pitch · spell · trunk · present · straw · squash

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pitch — completely
  7. squash — to crush
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. present — there
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. spell — magic
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitcher — a jug

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