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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — of a plant
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a tool
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — an illness
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. row — a line
  18. pound — a weight
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. file — a document
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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