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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — letters
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rule — a law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bound — obliged
  11. spell — magic
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fall — the season
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spell — a short time
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — for paper
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bound — certain
  24. chip — in a computer

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