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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. face — to point toward
  3. track — a song
  4. capital — a city
  5. spring — of water
  6. capital — money
  7. spring — the season
  8. face — to confront
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fall — the season
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fall — to drop
  15. file — a line of people
  16. track — a path
  17. prune — to trim
  18. file — a document
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a tool
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. fall — to drop

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