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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a tool
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. clip — for paper
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. file — a line of people
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — for betting
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. mine — an explosive

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