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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. band — a music group
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. last — final
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — a weight
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — a phone
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. capital — a city
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. capital — money

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