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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — ground
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. land — to come down
  8. clip — to cut
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cap — of ice
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cap — a lid
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. land — a country
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. race — a contest
  24. clip — a video

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