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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a great time
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — child
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fan — a supporter

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