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: drill · cell · pop · hand · perch · chair · chest · clip

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. perch — the fish
  8. clip — a video
  9. hand — in cards
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pop — soda
  13. drill — army training
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hand — help
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — the tool

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