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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — a video
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. clip — to cut
  13. board — a committee
  14. kid — child
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — shares
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — for paper
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stock — goods

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