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's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — finally
  3. race — humankind
  4. clip — for paper
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. last — to go on
  10. clip — a video
  11. last — final
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — the animal
  16. plane — a tool
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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