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

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chip — for betting
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. court — for sport
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — to eat
  10. band — a music group
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. court — of law
  14. snap — to click
  15. land — to come down
  16. tube — a container
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. capital — money
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chip — in a computer

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