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: foot · wound · cue · capital · last · date · spring · rest

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — money
  4. cue — a hint
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. date — the fruit
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. foot — a measure
  11. spring — of water
  12. cue — for pool
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rest — a break
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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