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: game · clip · tear · net · dip · bound · stem · face

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. stem — to come from
  5. net — after costs
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bound — certain
  8. net — for catching
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bound — obliged
  11. face — to confront
  12. bound — tied together
  13. net — in sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. face — to point toward
  16. tear — to rip
  17. clip — a video
  18. tear — from crying
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stem — a stem cell

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