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: season · clip · race · game · bat · pop · bulb · key

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — for light
  4. clip — to cut
  5. key — the most important part
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pop — soda
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. season — in sport
  13. game — a match
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. key — in music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bat — the animal
  18. race — a contest
  19. key — for a lock
  20. clip — a video
  21. race — humankind
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — to visit
  24. season — of the year

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