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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a line of people
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. firm — a company
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. firm — steady
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. file — a tool
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. clip — a video
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. firm — decided

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