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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. band — a ring
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chest — a box
  7. tube — a container
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. ground — a position
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — for paper
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tube — the underground
  17. can — a tin
  18. wax — to grow
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — of your body
  24. can — to be able to

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