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: tube · spell · clip · present · mug · swing · march · spring

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. clip — to cut
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spell — letters
  5. march — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — a container
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tube — the underground
  11. march — the month
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. spell — magic
  16. mug — a cup
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — a face
  19. present — the time now
  20. spell — a short time
  21. present — there
  22. mug — to rob
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — the season

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