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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — employees
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — a video
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — to paddle
  9. staff — employees
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cap — of ice
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. staff — a stick
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. saw — the tool
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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