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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · straw · clip · present · mark · bass

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — the time now
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. present — there
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bass — low music
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mark — a trace
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. club — for golf
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. club — a group
  16. mark — a grade
  17. clip — a video
  18. club — for dancing

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