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: firm · perch · capital · ruler · snap · cold · date · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — an illness
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. last — to go on
  6. firm — steady
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. firm — a company
  10. snap — to click
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. date — the fruit
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. last — final
  16. capital — a city
  17. firm — decided
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. capital — money
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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