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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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. row — a quarrel
  4. root — the cause
  5. row — a line
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. root — of a word
  9. ground — a position
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — the earth
  13. capital — money
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. root — of a plant
  18. ground — crushed
  19. craft — boats
  20. face — to confront
  21. row — to paddle
  22. game — a match
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pound — a weight

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