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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. file — a tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. race — a contest
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. race — humankind
  8. file — a line of people
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — a city
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. race — the arms race
  17. file — a document
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — in music
  24. chair — a leader

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