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: deal · cold · band · staff · bound · clip · dip · date

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a ring
  3. dip — to sink
  4. band — a music group
  5. staff — employees
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. staff — employees
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bound — tied together
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cold — not warm
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bound — certain
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bound — obliged
  20. date — the fruit
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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