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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pass — a permit
  3. can — a tin
  4. capital — a city
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — a coil
  18. can — a tin
  19. root — of a word
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. capital — money
  24. root — the cause

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