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: game · mine · clip · lean · land · rash · board · object

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. mine — for digging
  3. object — an aim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — a thing
  7. land — to come down
  8. board — a committee
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. land — a country
  14. game — a match
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. object — to protest
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — thin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. land — ground
  24. rash — a series

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