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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bank — for money
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. present — a gift
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — a contest
  10. object — an aim
  11. present — the time now
  12. object — a thing
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pound — a weight
  15. race — humankind
  16. clip — a video
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. present — there
  19. bank — of a river
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bank — for money
  22. mine — for digging
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — belonging to me

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