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: hand · tear · fork · rash · club · staff · clip · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — to rip
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — in a road
  16. club — for dancing
  17. clip — a video
  18. staff — a stick
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rash — a series
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — a group
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mine — an explosive

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