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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. clip — to cut
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — ground
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. clip — for paper
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. branch — a division
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — to come down
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. field — for sport
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — a container
  23. land — a country
  24. field — a subject

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