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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. file — a line of people
  3. clip — to cut
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. clip — a video
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — electric
  14. current — of water
  15. last — finally
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. staff — a stick
  18. last — to go on
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. file — a tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a document
  24. current — happening now

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