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: tube · wound · bowl · field · land · clip · dip · saw

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. saw — the tool
  8. field — a subject
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — farmland
  12. land — to come down
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. tube — the underground
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. dip — to sink
  20. land — a country
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wound — an injury
  24. clip — a video

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