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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mate — a partner
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — the earth
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ground — crushed
  9. game — a match
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. field — farmland
  12. mate — a friend
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. field — a subject
  15. capital — a city
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — for sport
  18. capital — money
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. ground — a position

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