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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — a city
  17. branch — a division
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pass — a permit
  24. sharp — exactly

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