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

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. key — in music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. capital — a city
  8. key — the most important part
  9. pop — soda
  10. bass — low music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — money
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cell — a phone

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