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: wind · fan · land · capital · face · craft · wound · jam

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — a country
  4. face — to point toward
  5. craft — boats
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — money
  9. land — ground
  10. wind — moving air
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. land — to come down
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — part of the head
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. face — to confront
  23. craft — a skill
  24. jam — in traffic

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