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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. present — a gift
  3. snap — to click
  4. clip — for paper
  5. ground — a position
  6. present — there
  7. firm — steady
  8. bore — to tire
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. present — the time now
  17. firm — decided
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mine — for digging
  22. firm — a company
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. clip — a video

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