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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — electric
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. race — a contest
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. current — happening now
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bulb — for light
  19. current — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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