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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rash — hasty
  4. cold — not warm
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — in music
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — a series
  18. chair — a leader
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — a tool
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fork — to eat with

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