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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. race — a contest
  6. clip — a video
  7. race — humankind
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. chest — a box
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — to push
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. race — the arms race
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fine — a penalty

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