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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cue — a hint
  3. clip — a video
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cue — a signal
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cue — for pool
  9. staff — employees
  10. clip — to cut
  11. staff — a stick
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — a city
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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