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: cabinet · cold · clip · capital · face · saw · cap · season

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. clip — a video
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. face — to confront
  13. capital — money
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — to cut
  17. season — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. capital — a city
  20. face — part of the head
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. season — of the year
  24. cap — a lid

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