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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cap — of ice
  8. capital — a city
  9. mine — for digging
  10. court — of a king
  11. firm — a company
  12. court — for sport
  13. capital — money
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. squash — the sport
  21. firm — steady
  22. squash — to crush
  23. court — of law
  24. prune — to trim

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