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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hand — help
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. clip — a video
  7. season — of the year
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. tube — a container
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. clip — to cut
  17. row — to paddle
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. season — in sport
  20. chip — for betting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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