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: capital · field · plane · kid · row · fan · cap · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. file — a document
  7. field — farmland
  8. row — to paddle
  9. field — for sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. plane — a tool
  19. row — a line
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kid — child
  24. file — a tool

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