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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — for sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. court — of law
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. court — of a king
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rule — government
  21. bass — low music
  22. rule — a law
  23. clip — for paper
  24. face — part of the head

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