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: tear · lean · bear · clip · degree · land · temple · roll

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — ground
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. roll — a list
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. roll — a cake
  16. clip — a video
  17. degree — temperature
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — thin
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. land — to come down
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. lean — to bend
  24. land — a country

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