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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rock — music
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — a city
  6. mug — a face
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — money
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rock — a stone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — of water

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