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: lean · shower · last · clip · tube · staff · chip · cell

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. staff — employees
  3. lean — to bend
  4. last — final
  5. shower — to wash
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. chip — to eat
  11. staff — employees
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — rain
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — to cut
  19. tube — a container
  20. chip — for betting
  21. clip — a video
  22. tube — the underground
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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