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 · lean · cold · vault · kick · tube · bear · track

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — a video
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bear — the animal
  7. track — a path
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bear — the animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. tube — a container
  17. clip — for paper
  18. vault — a safe
  19. lean — thin
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — not warm
  23. kick — in football
  24. track — to keep track

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