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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cap — a lid
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bank — of a river
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rule — a law
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rule — government
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bank — for money
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. capital — money

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