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: file · jam · band · wind · fall · board · clip · land

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — to cut
  3. land — a country
  4. fall — the season
  5. band — a music group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — a committee
  11. clip — a video
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — to get on
  14. land — to come down
  15. file — a tool
  16. land — ground
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. file — a document
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. wind — moving air
  23. clip — for paper
  24. file — a line of people

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