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: clip · bark · craft · wound · date · lie · court · net

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — of a king
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. net — after costs
  9. clip — to cut
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. craft — boats
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. net — for catching
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — an injury
  22. date — the fruit
  23. craft — a skill
  24. court — for sport

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