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: craft · drill · bowl · mine · clip · degree · rule · chair

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. craft — boats
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. clip — a video
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — a skill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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