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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. game — a match
  3. current — happening now
  4. capital — money
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. current — electric
  17. current — of water
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. sharp — clever
  24. game — a kind of play

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