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: bass · cold · lash · ruler · clip · hide · squash · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — low music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — of water
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. spring — the season
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. clip — for paper

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