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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. spell — letters
  3. cap — a hat
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cap — a lid
  7. face — to confront
  8. cap — of ice
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. file — a document
  12. spell — magic
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. mark — a trace
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. spell — a short time
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mark — a grade
  24. file — a line of people

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