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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — for catching
  8. swing — music
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — to play on
  12. season — in sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. net — in sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. swing — in golf
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. degree — an amount
  23. season — of the year
  24. chair — to sit on

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