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 116 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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — a series
  3. track — a path
  4. file — a line of people
  5. capital — money
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — the season
  10. track — a song
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — the underground
  14. file — a tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — to shout
  20. file — a document
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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