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: wave · nail · cold · dip · game · tube · fall · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. clip — a video
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tube — the underground
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. dip — to sink
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tube — a container
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — in a tire

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