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

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tear — from crying
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — to cut
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — for digging
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mug — a face
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. march — music
  23. land — to come down
  24. face — part of the head

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