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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rash — a series
  4. tube — a container
  5. lean — thin
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. prune — to trim
  9. snap — to click
  10. lean — to bend
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. scale — size or range
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. present — a gift
  16. scale — in music
  17. present — there
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. present — the time now
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. capital — money

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