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: chest · land · capital · spring · cue · lie · cell · can

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. land — to come down
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — a country
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cue — a hint
  15. capital — a city
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. chest — a box
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. cell — in biology
  24. land — ground

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