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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. present — the time now
  9. race — humankind
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — a contest
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — for paper
  15. present — there
  16. drill — army training
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. present — a gift
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. lie — to recline

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