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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bark — to shout
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bound — certain
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. key — in music
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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