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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — the sport
  3. drill — the tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. band — a ring
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — to rip
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rash — hasty
  21. drill — army training
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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