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 120 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: hand · content · rule · clip · bay · chip · drill · row

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. content — the amount
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rule — a law
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chip — to eat
  17. content — happy
  18. chip — for betting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rule — government

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