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 124 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. spell — letters
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. game — a match
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — to tease
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — to grow
  17. capital — a city
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. kid — child
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spell — magic
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spell — a short time
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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