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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. content — happy
  3. current — happening now
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — for digging
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — electric
  8. rule — government
  9. content — the amount
  10. rule — a law
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. last — finally
  21. current — of water
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bear — the animal
  24. clip — to cut

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