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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bore — to tire
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to drill
  5. race — humankind
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chest — a box
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. swing — music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chest — of your body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. swing — to play on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. clip — a video

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