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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. object — an aim
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. object — to protest
  10. tube — the underground
  11. scale — size or range
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. tube — a container
  14. drill — army training
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — a practice
  22. clip — to cut
  23. scale — in music
  24. object — a thing

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