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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. rest — what's left
  8. last — finally
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — hasty
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — a series
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — army training
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rest — a break
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — belonging to me

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