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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. clip — a video
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. spring — of water
  24. mouse — the animal

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