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 · leaves · pound · tube · band · land · tear · march

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. band — a ring
  4. capital — money
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tube — a container
  7. land — a country
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. march — the month
  10. pound — a weight
  11. land — to come down
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. tube — the underground
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. band — a music group
  19. land — ground
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. capital — a city
  24. pound — to hit hard

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