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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bat — the animal
  5. suit — clothes
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a ring
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. band — a music group
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. suit — to fit
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. band — a rubber band

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