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: vault · clip · tear · squash · chip · race · season · capital

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. capital — a city
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. clip — a video
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. season — in sport
  13. chip — for betting
  14. squash — to crush
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — the arms race
  20. squash — the sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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