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: spell · race · clip · mark · bear · content · field · wound

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — the amount
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — for sport
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — magic
  19. mark — a grade
  20. clip — a video
  21. field — a subject
  22. content — happy
  23. spell — letters
  24. bear — to put up with

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