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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tube — a container
  3. drill — army training
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rash — hasty
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. clip — a video
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — for sport
  14. rash — a series
  15. fall — to drop
  16. drill — the tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. fall — the season
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. sharp — clever

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