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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bound — tied together
  3. race — a contest
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chest — of your body
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stock — goods
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bound — obliged
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. ground — a position
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. race — humankind
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. chest — a box
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ground — the earth

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