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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. land — a country
  3. fine — all right
  4. capital — money
  5. rule — government
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rule — a law
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mate — a partner
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. clip — a video
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — to come down
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. capital — a city
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mate — to breed

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