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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. current — of water
  3. cue — a signal
  4. current — electric
  5. capital — money
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — music
  10. hand — help
  11. ground — a position
  12. current — happening now
  13. lean — to bend
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — the month
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. shower — rain
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. lean — thin
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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