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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fine — all right
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. field — farmland
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. field — a subject
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rock — a stone
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rock — music
  21. capital — money
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wave — of the sea

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