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: pound · cold · snap · trunk · cue · chip · roll · clip

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cue — a signal
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to click
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cue — for pool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chip — for betting
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chip — to eat
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. clip — for paper

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