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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. fine — all right
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — an amount
  6. swing — music
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. swing — to play on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — in golf
  18. last — final
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. capital — money
  23. fine — high quality
  24. scale — in music

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