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: kid · cap · roll · branch · rule · capital · spell · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cap — of ice
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rule — a law
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spell — letters
  11. roll — a cake
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. branch — a division
  15. capital — money
  16. face — to point toward
  17. kid — child
  18. roll — a list
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spell — magic
  24. branch — of a tree

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