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: clip · kid · chair · bear · staff · wake · wax · present

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. staff — employees
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. staff — employees
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — a gift
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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