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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — in sport
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. roll — a list
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. capital — money
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chest — a box
  14. clip — to cut
  15. track — to keep track
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. roll — a cake
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pit — a hole
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. chest — of your body

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