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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — a line
  6. capital — money
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — an injury
  10. clip — to cut
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bound — obliged
  19. game — wild animals
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. capital — a city
  24. can — to be able to

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