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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. net — in sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — for paper
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. fine — all right
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. fine — high quality
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — a weight

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