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: track · cell · clip · mine · mouse · march · object · dip

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — for digging
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — a video
  9. object — an aim
  10. cell — in biology
  11. track — a path
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cell — a phone
  20. track — a song
  21. march — the month
  22. track — to keep track
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. mouse — for a computer

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