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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  3. net — for catching
  4. cap — of ice
  5. face — to confront
  6. bulb — for light
  7. face — to point toward
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bass — low music
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — the fish
  17. land — to come down
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. land — a country
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. cap — a hat
  23. face — part of the head
  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