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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. row — a line
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. clip — a video
  13. row — to paddle
  14. scale — in music
  15. object — an aim
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. object — a thing
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. clip — to cut
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. last — to go on

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