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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mug — a cup
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. object — an aim
  9. march — music
  10. object — to protest
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. march — the month
  16. object — a thing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mug — a face

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