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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · kid · capital · clip · mouse · rule

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. clip — a video
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. capital — money
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. clip — to cut

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