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 · clip · snap · stem · tube · fork · mine · fall

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — for digging
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bark — to shout
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. clip — a video
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fork — in a road

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