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: march · capital · squash · hand · foot · vault · wind · wound

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. hand — in cards
  12. march — the month
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. squash — to crush
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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