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: clip · season · row · spell · net · bore · tear · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. net — for catching
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — to rip
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — of the year
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. clip — a video
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bore — to drill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — a city

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