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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — a video
  6. rule — a law
  7. net — in sport
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. last — final
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rash — hasty
  15. content — the amount
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. content — happy
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mouse — for a computer

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