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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a city
  4. ball — a great time
  5. staff — employees
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — to come down
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. staff — a stick
  12. ball — a dance
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. perch — the fish
  15. dip — to sink
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. land — a country
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. staff — employees
  23. capital — money
  24. perch — for a bird

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