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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · scale · mouse · cold · clip · plane

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. fork — in a road
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — in music
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool

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