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: lie · ruler · land · clip · hand · face · pitcher · bark

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. clip — a video
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — for paper
  7. face — to point toward
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — to cut
  10. land — a country
  11. bark — to shout
  12. hand — help
  13. face — to confront
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. land — to come down
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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