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: jam · wound · hand · clip · last · lean · net · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. last — to go on
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bound — tied together
  6. net — for catching
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — final
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. wound — an injury
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — after costs
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. hand — in cards
  21. net — in sport
  22. bound — certain
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. jam — a tight spot

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