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

Word bank: capital · cell · plane · swing · arm · cold

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. swing — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — a phone
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cell — in biology
  15. capital — money
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — an aircraft

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