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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. swing — to play on
  3. current — happening now
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. swing — music
  11. mark — a trace
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — in golf
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. current — electric
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. current — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wake — a trail

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