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 · field · band · game · bound · bore · bark · kick

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a music group
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — to shout
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — farmland
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — a subject
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bound — tied together
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bound — obliged
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. game — a match

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