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 116 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: pass · tear · calf · land · dip · row · prune · clip

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. clip — to cut
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. row — a line
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. land — ground
  14. pass — a permit
  15. dip — to sink
  16. tear — to rip
  17. row — to paddle
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. dip — a sauce

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