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: clip · mine · object · race · arm · file · bound · bore

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. 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. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bore — to drill
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. race — humankind
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bound — tied together
  15. file — a tool
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mine — for digging
  20. object — a thing
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. 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