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: capital · root · mine · scale · snap · mark · object · field

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. field — farmland
  3. scale — in music
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. snap — to click
  6. root — the cause
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mark — a grade
  9. root — of a word
  10. field — a subject
  11. capital — a city
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mark — a trace
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. root — of a plant
  18. object — to protest
  19. field — for sport
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. capital — money
  24. mine — an explosive

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