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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. key — in music
  8. capital — money
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — ground
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. face — to confront
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — rain
  20. cell — a phone
  21. face — to point toward
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — in biology

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