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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. face — part of the head
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. degree — an amount
  12. row — to paddle
  13. degree — from a university
  14. capital — a city
  15. face — to point toward
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. row — a line
  19. face — to confront
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rule — government
  23. fine — all right
  24. row — a quarrel

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