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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — to rip
  4. craft — a skill
  5. land — to come down
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — a city
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — a tool
  14. land — a country
  15. rock — music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. land — ground
  21. clip — a video
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. tear — from crying
  24. craft — boats

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