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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — for digging
  6. clip — a video
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — an illness
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. chip — to eat
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — for paper
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. game — a match

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