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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bound — certain
  3. club — for golf
  4. degree — from a university
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bound — tied together
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bound — obliged
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. clip — a video
  14. race — a contest
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. degree — temperature
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. club — a group
  24. race — humankind

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