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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. face — part of the head
  4. land — ground
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a line
  8. land — a country
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — a city
  11. fall — to drop
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. staff — employees
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — to paddle
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. land — to come down

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