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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. swing — to play on
  3. object — an aim
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — to confront
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mark — a trace
  15. present — the time now
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — a thing
  20. face — part of the head
  21. mark — a grade
  22. present — there
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wind — to turn a key

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