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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a skill
  4. rule — a law
  5. mark — a trace
  6. degree — from a university
  7. capital — money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. land — ground
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. land — to come down
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. rule — government
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — boats
  24. degree — an amount

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