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 120 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. capital — money
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — of water
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — a short time
  15. current — happening now
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — a city
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — electricity
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. race — the arms race
  22. current — electric
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spell — magic

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