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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kick — in football
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — to shout
  17. band — a ring
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. band — a music group
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. net — for catching

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