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: land · clip · rash · mark · capital · fall · swing · rule

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. land — to come down
  5. clip — to cut
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. swing — to play on
  13. rash — a series
  14. mark — a grade
  15. swing — in golf
  16. rule — a law
  17. clip — a video
  18. land — a country
  19. fall — the season
  20. land — ground
  21. rule — government
  22. swing — music
  23. mark — a trace
  24. capital — money

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