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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. march — music
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — a video
  17. cue — for pool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — in music
  22. march — the month
  23. scale — size or range
  24. file — a line of people

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