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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — a city
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. file — a document
  7. last — finally
  8. capital — money
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — of a plant
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bank — of a river
  15. field — for sport
  16. last — final
  17. root — of a word
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bass — the fish
  20. root — the cause
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bank — for money
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. capital — a big letter

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