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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. court — of law
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. field — farmland
  6. capital — a city
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. pit — a hole
  14. net — in sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — for sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. field — a subject
  24. net — after costs

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