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: last · capital · ground · chest · swing · pound · can · content

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. can — to be able to
  3. capital — a city
  4. can — a tin
  5. ground — a position
  6. chest — a box
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — finally
  15. swing — music
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — happy
  18. swing — in golf
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. capital — money
  23. ground — the earth
  24. content — the amount

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