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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — the animal
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for golf
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — a box
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — the season
  14. squash — the sport
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. club — for dancing
  18. spring — of water
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. squash — to crush
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spring — a coil
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. capital — a city

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