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

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — to tease
  4. band — a music group
  5. board — a committee
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. file — a tool
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — rain
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kid — child
  16. dip — to sink
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. dip — a sauce

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