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: pitch · file · face · mine · trunk · capital · date · scale

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. scale — size or range
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. date — the fruit
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitch — completely
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. scale — in music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. file — a document
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. face — to confront

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