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: clip · row · bat · bulb · kid · band · object · firm

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. firm — steady
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kid — child
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. band — a music group
  10. bulb — for light
  11. object — an aim
  12. firm — a company
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. object — a thing
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — a line
  18. object — to protest
  19. clip — to cut
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. firm — decided

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