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: row · clip · race · mine · wind · rock · march · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — the month
  4. race — the arms race
  5. content — the amount
  6. clip — a video
  7. row — a line
  8. content — happy
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. march — music
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — for digging
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. rock — music

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