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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. last — to go on
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. last — final
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. last — finally
  18. bear — the animal

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