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: wind · ground · land · racket · capital · drill · sharp · clip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. clip — to cut
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. sharp — clever
  10. ground — crushed
  11. land — ground
  12. ground — the earth
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. drill — a practice
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ground — a position
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — for paper
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. land — to come down

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