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: spell · bear · mouse · clip · degree · track · kid · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — from a university
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. track — a song
  6. spell — letters
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. staff — employees
  10. bear — the animal
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. kid — child
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bear — the animal

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