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: bear · chair · clip · plane · temple · last · hand · file

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. last — to go on
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bear — the animal
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. file — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a document
  12. last — final
  13. hand — in cards
  14. last — finally
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. file — a line of people
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — to sit on

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