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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — to tease
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. kid — child
  9. march — the month
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. plane — a tool
  14. march — music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chip — to eat
  17. clip — a video
  18. spell — magic
  19. row — to paddle
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — in a computer

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