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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. mine — for digging
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — clever
  9. capital — money
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cap — a lid
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. saw — the tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cap — a hat
  19. row — to paddle
  20. capital — a city
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mine — an explosive

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