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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. capital — a city
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — not warm
  6. present — a gift
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bore — to drill
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — an illness
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — in music
  18. capital — money
  19. present — there
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pass — to succeed

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