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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. file — a tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. band — a music group
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. degree — temperature
  18. board — a committee
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — a video
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. degree — an amount

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