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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. kid — child
  2. bulb — for light
  3. track — a path
  4. row — a line
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — to cut
  11. track — to keep track
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — for light
  15. track — a song
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. branch — a division
  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