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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. chip — to eat
  3. clip — a video
  4. game — wild animals
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — the fish
  9. rash — hasty
  10. root — of a word
  11. club — a group
  12. game — a match
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — temperature
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. club — for dancing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. club — for golf
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. chip — for betting

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