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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — money
  7. face — to confront
  8. spell — magic
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spell — letters
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stem — to come from
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. face — part of the head

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