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: saw · stem · scale · wound · capital · wind · last · mug

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. last — final
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. mug — a cup
  15. last — to go on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mug — a face
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wound — an injury

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