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: clip · land · pound · board · rest · bat · row · lean

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. land — ground
  3. board — to get on
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. row — a line
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — to cut
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. board — a committee
  21. land — a country
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — a weight
  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