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 116 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: squash · lie · rest · capital · wind · perch · file · spring

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. spring — of water
  6. rest — what's left
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — to recline
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. file — a document
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — a break
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lie — an untruth

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