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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. object — to protest
  9. net — after costs
  10. land — ground
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — a country
  14. stock — shares
  15. clip — a video
  16. object — an aim
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — in sport

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