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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. track — a path
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. track — to keep track
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. current — electric
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. current — happening now
  13. clip — a video
  14. track — a song
  15. cell — in biology
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. current — of water
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. last — final
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pass — a permit

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