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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. file — a tool
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — a video
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. staff — employees
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. degree — an amount
  13. foot — a measure
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — a stick
  17. row — a line
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — temperature
  24. file — a document

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