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: mate · hand · clip · pitcher · kid · bound · last · leaves

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — a video
  4. mate — to breed
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bound — tied together
  12. last — finally
  13. mate — a partner
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. last — final
  19. kid — to tease
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — in cards
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bound — obliged

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