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: tube · spell · bark · ground · foot · capital · net · march

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. capital — a city
  3. tube — the underground
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. tube — a container
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bark — to shout
  8. march — music
  9. net — in sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. net — after costs
  12. spell — letters
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — magic
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. march — the month
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. ground — the earth
  24. net — for catching

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