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: kid · clip · board · roll · mug · spell

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. 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 — to tease
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — a list
  4. spell — magic
  5. board — a committee
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. spell — letters
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mug — to rob
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — to get on
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kid — child
  15. mug — a face
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mug — a cup
  18. 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