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: fall · file · band · row · capital · last · prune · pound

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a document
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — finally
  9. row — to paddle
  10. last — final
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. file — a tool
  13. band — a ring
  14. prune — to trim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fall — the season
  19. capital — money
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a line of people

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