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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tube — the underground
  10. season — in sport
  11. ball — a great time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. season — of the year
  16. ball — a dance
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. clip — a video
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. plane — a tool
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. tear — from crying
  24. plane — an aircraft

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