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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — a city
  3. clip — for paper
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rest — a break
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. current — of water
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rush — hurry
  10. clip — a video
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. key — in music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. key — for a lock
  15. current — electric
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. key — the most important part
  20. capital — money
  21. rest — what's left
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — rain

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