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 116 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. sharp — clever
  4. clip — a video
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — to go on
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. last — final
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — a contest
  15. last — finally
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. race — humankind
  20. hand — in cards
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hand — help

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