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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — a division
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — to cut
  13. race — the arms race
  14. clip — a video
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — a signal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cue — for pool
  24. branch — of a tree

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