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: rest · squash · nail · clip · file · cold · drill · mouse

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rest — what's left
  3. squash — the sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rest — a break
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — the tool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. drill — a practice
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. clip — to cut
  24. drill — army training

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