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: trunk · hand · kid · swing · game · season · squash · clip

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. swing — in golf
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hand — help
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. squash — the sport
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. kid — child
  17. season — of the year
  18. kid — to tease
  19. swing — music
  20. game — a match
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — for paper
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. season — in sport

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