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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. can — to be able to
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. key — in music
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — for paper
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mine — for digging
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. key — the most important part
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. dip — to sink
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — child
  21. spring — the season
  22. wax — to grow
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. wax — in the ear

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