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 120 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: wave · arm · wind · capital · dip · hand · ground · object

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — money
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. object — a thing
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. ground — a position

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