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 116 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 · wake · key · wind · land · spring · bear · kid

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — ground
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — money
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. key — in music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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