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: stand · last · pop · mine · cap · bay · wind · clip

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stand — to bear
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pop — soda
  13. cap — a hat
  14. last — final
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. last — finally
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. mine — belonging to me

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