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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to click
  4. face — part of the head
  5. land — ground
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. land — to come down
  9. capital — money
  10. rock — a stone
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — a country
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. squash — the sport
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rock — music
  18. march — the month
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. saw — the tool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. face — to confront
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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