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: race · wind · branch · fan · calf · clip · press · kid

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. race — the arms race
  4. press — to push
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — a contest
  12. wind — moving air
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. press — newspapers
  16. race — humankind
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kid — child
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. clip — to cut
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. branch — of a bank

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