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: drill · temple · lean · cap · capital · arm · degree · spring

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cap — a hat
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — an amount
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lean — thin
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. drill — a practice
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — of ice
  18. drill — army training
  19. cap — a lid
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spring — a coil
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. arm — part of the body

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