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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. land — to come down
  6. snap — to click
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — farmland
  10. clip — for paper
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. field — a subject
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — from crying
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — to rip
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. rush — hurry
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. safe — out of danger

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