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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. spring — of water
  5. wound — an injury
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. current — electric
  11. file — a line of people
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — happening now
  18. spring — the season
  19. current — of water
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — a video
  22. craft — boats
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — moving air

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