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: spell · clip · wind · firm · row · pitcher · present · mine

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mine — for digging
  8. firm — a company
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. firm — steady
  14. spell — letters
  15. clip — to cut
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. present — there
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. firm — decided
  24. pitcher — a jug

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