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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. clip — for paper
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. clip — a video
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. game — wild animals
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. foot — a measure
  20. tube — a container
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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