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: spring · wound · rash · lean · clip · land · net · face

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — a video
  4. land — to come down
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. net — for catching
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — a coil
  24. face — to confront

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