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: land · race · charge · bulb · rule · shower · face · clip

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. charge — in control
  3. land — ground
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rule — government
  6. land — to come down
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bulb — for light
  10. charge — a price
  11. rule — a law
  12. shower — rain
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — to cut
  15. face — part of the head
  16. race — a contest
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. land — a country
  19. clip — a video
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bulb — for light
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bulb — of a plant

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