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 · pop · field · straw · current · hide · rest · face

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. current — happening now
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rest — a break
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — electric
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. current — of water
  10. field — farmland
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. face — to confront
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pop — music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rest — what's left
  22. field — a subject
  23. pop — soda
  24. field — for sport

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