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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — a law
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. capital — money
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a city
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cell — a phone
  18. clip — to cut
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rule — government
  21. game — a match
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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