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 water is too ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mate — a friend
  3. clip — a video
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. saw — the tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. press — newspapers
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. press — to push
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — to cut
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. kid — child
  24. mate — to breed

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