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: mate · tear · current · face · pop · kid · spring · capital

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pop — to visit
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. face — to confront
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kid — to tease
  10. current — of water
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kid — child
  14. face — to point toward
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. current — electric
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — part of the head
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — happening now
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — of water

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