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: arm · clip · cell · mouse · tube · game · march · scale

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — a match
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — to cut
  6. scale — in music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — for paper
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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