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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. spell — letters
  3. capital — a city
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. current — happening now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — the arms race
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. spell — magic
  12. current — electric
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. race — humankind
  15. current — of water
  16. can — a tin
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. spell — a short time
  19. dip — to sink
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. can — a tin

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