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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — a leader
  7. staff — a stick
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. staff — employees

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