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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. net — after costs
  9. race — the arms race
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rest — a break
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rash — a series
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. net — in sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — for catching
  24. ball — a dance

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