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: hide · pop · club · cabinet · wound · bark · clip · cold

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — for dancing
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. pop — to visit
  7. club — for golf
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — a group
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — soda
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pop — music

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