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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. capital — money
  3. pop — soda
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pop — music
  15. field — farmland
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter

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