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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. march — the month
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bound — tied together
  8. clip — a video
  9. bound — certain
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tube — a container
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. march — the month
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. march — music
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. tube — in a tire

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