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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. drill — army training
  6. net — after costs
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. net — in sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — finally
  13. pound — a weight
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — final
  16. net — for catching
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. land — to come down

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