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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rule — a law
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bank — of a river
  8. rule — government
  9. bank — for money
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wave — of the sea

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