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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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. game — wild animals
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — a phone
  6. game — a match
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — in music
  12. season — of the year
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — money
  15. lean — to bend
  16. press — a publisher
  17. key — for a lock
  18. lean — thin
  19. press — newspapers
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — in biology
  22. clip — to cut
  23. season — in sport
  24. key — the most important part

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