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: cold · swing · clip · present · net · patient · rest · pound

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. net — in sport
  5. clip — a video
  6. swing — to play on
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — not warm
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pound — a weight
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. net — after costs
  15. swing — music
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. clip — to cut
  18. present — there
  19. present — the time now
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. present — a gift
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — a break

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