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: cold · mate · firm · pop · jam · wind · capital · chip

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — a city
  4. pop — to visit
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — music
  11. mate — to breed
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — steady
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. capital — money
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — an illness

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