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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. land — ground
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. club — a group
  5. land — a country
  6. chair — a leader
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. land — to come down
  23. club — for dancing
  24. wake — a trail

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