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 116 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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kid — child
  3. field — a subject
  4. suit — clothes
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. clip — for paper
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. ground — crushed
  18. suit — in cards
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. ground — a position
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — for sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. suit — to fit

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