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: roll · capital · jam · cap · kid · cell · race · spring

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. race — humankind
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a list
  6. cell — a phone
  7. roll — a cake
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — a coil
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a lid
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. spring — the season
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cap — a hat
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — the arms race
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — a contest

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