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: spell · staff · saw · capital · land · track · degree · patient

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. track — a song
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. track — a path
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — ground
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. land — a country
  12. spell — a short time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. land — to come down
  15. track — to keep track
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spell — magic
  19. staff — employees
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. capital — a city
  22. saw — the tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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