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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. press — a publisher
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bound — certain
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. last — finally
  9. press — newspapers
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bound — tied together
  12. last — to go on
  13. pit — in a race
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. game — a match
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. capital — a city
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wax — to grow
  21. game — wild animals
  22. last — final
  23. press — to push
  24. band — a ring

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