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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — money
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — for paper
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — a video
  16. race — humankind
  17. plane — a tool
  18. coach — a trainer

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