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: bowl · clip · race · rule · rock · scale · arm · game

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — a video
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rule — a law
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. game — a match
  15. rock — a stone
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. scale — size or range
  18. race — a contest
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. rule — government
  24. race — humankind

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