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: tear · chair · clip · game · land · jam · saw · mark

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. saw — the tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. game — wild animals
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — ground
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. land — a country
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mark — a grade
  16. tear — from crying
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. mark — a trace
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. chair — a leader
  21. game — a match
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. clip — a video

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