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: wound · bore · content · march · snap · clip · sharp · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. content — the amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bore — to drill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. row — a line

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