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: face · swing · clip · file · cabinet · rush · branch · hand

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. face — to point toward
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. swing — in golf
  6. face — to confront
  7. file — a document
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. face — part of the head
  17. swing — music
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. hand — in cards
  20. clip — a video
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. hand — help
  24. file — a tool

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