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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. squash — the sport
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — a container
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — to come down
  14. snap — to click
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. squash — to crush
  18. capital — money
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. deal — to handle
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. land — a country
  24. racket — a loud noise

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