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: fan · fine · tear · wake · clip · cold · bay · bear

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — a video
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wake — a trail
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. fine — all right
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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