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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bound — certain
  3. season — of the year
  4. current — electric
  5. ball — a great time
  6. clip — a video
  7. bound — obliged
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — tied together
  14. current — happening now
  15. bark — to shout
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. shower — to wash
  18. current — of water
  19. clip — for paper
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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