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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fall — to drop
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. net — after costs
  6. rock — a stone
  7. face — part of the head
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. file — a document
  16. rock — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — to drop
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fall — the season
  24. rock — to move gently

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