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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tube — the underground
  3. track — a path
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bound — certain
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pound — a weight
  9. capital — a city
  10. fall — the season
  11. track — a song
  12. tube — a container
  13. fall — to drop
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. present — a gift
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bound — tied together
  19. shower — rain
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — to wash
  22. capital — money
  23. present — there
  24. pound — for dogs

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