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: capital · mark · cold · tube · wound · root · land · current

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. land — ground
  3. mark — a grade
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. capital — a city
  7. root — of a plant
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — the cause
  16. current — of water
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — a container
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mark — to pay attention

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