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

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. chest — a box
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. content — happy
  14. degree — an amount
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. capital — a city

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