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 116 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 · squash · bore · staff · game · net · clip · race

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to tire
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — in sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. race — the arms race
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — a match
  18. net — for catching
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bore — to drill
  21. net — in sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — a video

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