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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. rock — music
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — to drop
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — not warm
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fall — the season
  17. branch — a division
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — a hat
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. row — a line
  24. rock — a stone

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