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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. capital — money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. key — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. capital — a city
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stem — to come from

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