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 · cold · stick · plane · stem · bass · key · fork

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. key — the most important part
  12. clip — to cut
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. key — in music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bass — low music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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