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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. track — a path
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — what's left
  10. content — happy
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — the amount
  20. rest — a break
  21. track — a song
  22. rule — a law
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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