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: capital · wave · rock · stem · straw · fall · saw · fork

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. fork — in a road
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fall — the season
  24. rock — a stone

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