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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. roll — a cake
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. board — a committee
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. roll — a list
  9. march — music
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. club — for dancing
  12. board — to get on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. club — a group
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. march — the month
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. club — for golf

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