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: leaves · rule · band · bark · face · race · spring · clip

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — to shout
  8. race — humankind
  9. rule — a law
  10. spring — the season
  11. face — to confront
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a ring
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. spring — of water
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rule — government
  22. spring — a coil
  23. band — a music group
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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