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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pass — a permit
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. field — farmland
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — for a hammer

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