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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. fine — high quality
  4. chest — of your body
  5. dip — to sink
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — all right
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. last — final
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — to cut
  17. content — the amount
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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