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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spell — letters
  3. drill — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — army training
  12. spell — a short time
  13. capital — money
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spell — magic
  24. bound — tied together

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