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 120 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: bark · patient · saw · dip · face · wind · land · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. clip — to cut
  6. face — to point toward
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. saw — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. dip — to sink
  14. land — ground
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — a country
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — to shout
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. face — part of the head

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