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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rule — government
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to click
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rule — a law
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rest — a break
  24. rule — to rule out

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