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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. lean — thin
  6. cap — a lid
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. content — happy
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cap — a hat
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. content — the amount
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cap — of ice
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — a tin
  23. track — a song
  24. wind — moving air

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