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: pop · foot · tear · chest · clip · rule

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pop — soda
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pop — to visit
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. tear — to rip
  7. foot — a measure
  8. chest — of your body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pop — music
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. chest — a box

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