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: straw · lean · capital · mine · cold · current · mate · track

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. capital — money
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. current — of water
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — a friend
  13. capital — a city
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. current — electric
  19. track — to keep track
  20. current — happening now
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mine — for digging

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