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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a city
  4. bore — to drill
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wound — an injury
  8. march — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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