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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. charge — a price
  4. band — a ring
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. charge — in control
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. charge — electricity
  20. kick — in football
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. prune — to trim

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