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 116 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. mug — to rob
  4. fall — to drop
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. capital — money
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fall — the season
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — magic
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — a city
  20. kid — child
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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