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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. sharp — clever
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — shares
  15. field — farmland
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. file — a line of people
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — for sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — to cut

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