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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — wild animals
  5. object — a thing
  6. hand — help
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chair — a leader
  12. clip — a video
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a match
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — to protest
  19. tube — a container
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. clip — for paper

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