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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — music
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — a country
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — ground
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a city
  18. march — the month
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — money
  22. bore — to tire
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. ground — the earth

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