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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. clip — a video
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. current — electric
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pit — a hole
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. roll — a cake
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. object — an aim
  14. pit — in a race
  15. degree — temperature
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. object — a thing
  18. clip — for paper
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — a division
  22. roll — a list
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — to cut

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