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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mark — a grade
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — a video
  9. current — happening now
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. current — of water
  14. current — electric
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mark — a trace
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fan — to cool the air

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