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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. clip — for paper
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. present — there
  9. spring — the season
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitch — completely
  24. present — a gift

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