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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hand — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. hand — help
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tube — a container
  24. court — of a king

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