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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cold — an illness
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. roll — a cake
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — of water
  11. kid — to tease
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spring — the season
  17. kid — child
  18. spring — a coil
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. roll — a list
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lie — to recline
  24. roll — on a roll

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