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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. clip — to cut
  3. race — a contest
  4. clip — a video
  5. rule — a law
  6. content — the amount
  7. race — humankind
  8. mug — a face
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cold — an illness
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — for money
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bank — for money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. content — happy

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