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: clip · face · capital · row · temple · suit · perch · spring

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. row — to paddle
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a city
  5. suit — to fit
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to point toward
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — money
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. row — a line
  17. suit — in cards
  18. spring — a coil
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — of water
  21. face — part of the head
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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