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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. clip — a video
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ground — the earth
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. craft — boats
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. craft — a skill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. file — a document
  22. chair — a leader
  23. ground — crushed
  24. craft — a handicraft

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