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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. clip — a video
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cap — a lid
  6. game — a match
  7. board — a committee
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. board — to get on
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. swing — in golf
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stem — to come from
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cap — of ice

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