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: lean · spring · band · tube · bear · bat · capital · jam

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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 — money
  2. band — a music group
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. bat — the animal
  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