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: chip · clip · straw · bark · hand · chair · bear · row

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chip — to eat
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. chip — for betting
  18. row — a line
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bear — the animal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hand — help

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