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 · perch · capital · stick · charge · fall · swing · clip

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. charge — a price
  3. capital — money
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a city
  6. race — humankind
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. charge — electricity
  9. charge — in control
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. swing — in golf
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. clip — for paper
  19. swing — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. clip — a video
  23. swing — to play on
  24. capital — a big letter

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