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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chest — a box
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. current — happening now
  7. drill — a practice
  8. capital — a city
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. capital — money
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. current — of water
  19. band — a music group
  20. drill — army training
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wake — a trail
  23. band — a ring
  24. current — electric

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