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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. clip — for paper
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mark — a grade
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mark — a trace
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. drill — army training
  17. race — a contest
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. pass — a permit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. race — the arms race

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