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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. kid — child
  5. land — to come down
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — a country
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. spell — a short time
  12. land — ground
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. file — a tool
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. spell — letters
  17. file — a document
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spell — magic
  23. scale — in music
  24. file — a line of people

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