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 · snap · wound · sharp · land · mine · mouse · stand

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — clever
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. wound — an injury
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. stand — to bear
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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