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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chip — to eat
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mark — a trace
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — the fruit
  14. chip — for betting
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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