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 · arm · mug · mine · file · swing · bear · root

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. file — a tool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mug — to rob
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — a video
  16. mug — a face
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bear — the animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. mine — an explosive

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