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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — a match
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. press — to push
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. march — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. press — newspapers
  15. capital — money
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bulb — for light
  18. press — a publisher
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bulb — for light
  24. march — the month

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