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 · pitcher · march · clip · cold · tube · pass · roll

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. roll — a list
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — a video
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cold — an illness
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pass — to succeed

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