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 120 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: cold · kid · rule · chest · clip · rock · content · nail

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — child
  7. clip — for paper
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — to tease
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rock — a stone
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. chest — a box
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — a law
  22. rock — music
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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