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: clip · chair · kid · wake · foot · race

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. race — a contest
  9. clip — a video
  10. wake — a trail
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child

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