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: rest · bore · degree · fan · tear · deal · clip · face

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — for paper
  6. face — to confront
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. face — to point toward
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rest — a break
  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