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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. clip — to cut
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. board — to get on
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. board — a committee
  13. spring — a coil
  14. last — finally
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. last — final
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. clip — a video
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. arm — part of the body

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