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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. squash — to crush
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. clip — for paper
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — a contest
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — a part of something

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