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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bore — to drill
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bore — to tire
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mark — a grade
  16. branch — a division
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wave — of the sea

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