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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. band — a music group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — the time now
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bear — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. band — a ring
  17. present — there
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. clip — to cut
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. band — a rubber band

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