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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. current — electric
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. charge — electricity
  11. current — happening now
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. current — of water
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. charge — in control
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — to come down
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. charge — a price
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. land — ground
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lash — an eyelash

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