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 water is too ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. track — to keep track
  3. clip — for paper
  4. can — to be able to
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. track — a song
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — a law
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. clip — to cut
  11. scale — size or range
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — a video
  14. current — happening now
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rule — government
  23. can — a tin
  24. track — a path

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