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

Word bank: capital · march · root · wind · wake · present

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — music
  3. wake — a trail
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — a gift
  8. capital — money
  9. root — of a word
  10. march — the month
  11. root — of a plant
  12. present — the time now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — there
  15. root — the cause
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key

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