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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · content · rule · swing · stem · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. swing — music
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. content — the amount
  14. swing — in golf
  15. rule — government
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. capital — money
  18. swing — to play on

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