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: perch · current · chair · plane · wave · bass · clip · cold

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. perch — the fish
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bass — low music
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. current — electric
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. clip — to cut
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. plane — an aircraft

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