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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. file — a tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. file — a document
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bass — low music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. drill — the tool
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bound — certain
  20. clip — a video
  21. file — a line of people
  22. clip — for paper
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — an injury

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