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: patient · stem · degree · present · clip · wind

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. present — the time now
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. clip — a video
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person

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