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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — in a road
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. spring — the season
  8. mate — a partner
  9. club — for dancing
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a tool
  13. suit — clothes
  14. file — a document
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mate — to breed
  17. suit — in cards
  18. spring — of water
  19. suit — to fit
  20. clip — to cut
  21. file — a line of people
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. clip — a video

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