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 116 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 · mine · stick · straw · cold · kick · wave · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. kick — in football
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. capital — money
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. capital — a city
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kick — with a leg

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