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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — final
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rest — a break
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rest — what's left
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mate — a partner
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. capital — a city
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — a division
  21. mate — to breed
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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