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: race · mine · tear · clip · present · current · craft · content

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. clip — a video
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. present — there
  9. clip — to cut
  10. current — happening now
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — for paper
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — boats
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — of water

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