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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fall — the season
  3. rest — what's left
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rest — what's left
  6. chest — of your body
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — a break
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — in sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to click
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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