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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. spring — of water
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. clip — a video
  16. spring — the season
  17. mine — for digging
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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