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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — the arms race
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. clip — a video
  13. press — a publisher
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — a contest
  17. press — newspapers
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. press — to push
  21. sharp — clever
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. race — humankind
  24. capital — a city

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