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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — for sport
  4. present — there
  5. branch — a division
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — a video
  9. rock — a stone
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. file — a document
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rock — music
  15. court — of law
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. court — of a king
  21. rash — hasty
  22. present — a gift
  23. rash — a series
  24. present — the time now

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