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: rule · snap · season · capital · saw · clip · sharp · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. clip — to cut
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — a city
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — government
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. sharp — clever
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. saw — the tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. snap — to click
  18. capital — money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. season — of the year
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. season — in sport
  24. rule — a law

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