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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — happy
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. file — a line of people
  7. land — ground
  8. bound — obliged
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — to come down
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bound — certain
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. clip — to cut

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