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: game · bore · pop · clip · sharp · pit · racket · row

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pop — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. game — a match
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pop — soda
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. row — to paddle
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bore — to drill
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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