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: root · bat · pop · cell · capital · fall · clip · current

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — music
  5. current — electric
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — money
  10. current — happening now
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pop — to visit
  14. root — of a word
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — the cause
  18. pop — soda
  19. cell — a phone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. clip — to cut
  22. current — of water
  23. fall — to drop
  24. root — of a plant

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