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: wind · cell · capital · face · prune · march · fine · mouse

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — all right
  14. march — music
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fine — high quality
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. march — the month

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