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: spring · patient · last · capital · mine · fall · wind · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — for digging
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — money
  8. can — a tin
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — of water
  12. last — to go on
  13. fall — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wind — moving air
  21. can — to be able to
  22. last — finally
  23. fall — to drop
  24. patient — a sick person

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