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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. pop — soda
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kid — child
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pop — to visit
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a list
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pop — music
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. kid — to tease
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. clip — a video
  19. drill — the tool
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. roll — a cake
  23. clip — for paper
  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