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 120 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: clip · staff · cold · root · wound · plane · row · kick

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — a video
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — for paper
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. staff — employees
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. staff — employees
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. row — a line
  19. wound — an injury
  20. root — of a plant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. kick — in football
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — a thrill

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