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 120 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: content · staff · degree · charge · coach · rule · clip · land

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rule — government
  3. content — happy
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — a law
  6. staff — employees
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. charge — electricity
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. charge — a price
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. clip — for paper
  21. staff — a stick
  22. charge — in control
  23. content — the amount
  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