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: net · band · mouse · bat · drill · cell · present · clip

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a music group
  8. drill — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. net — after costs
  11. band — a ring
  12. cell — a phone
  13. net — in sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. net — for catching
  16. present — a gift
  17. clip — a video
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — army training
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. present — there
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. drill — a practice

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