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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — a city
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. field — a subject
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stock — goods
  15. capital — money
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — wild animals
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. row — a line
  23. field — farmland
  24. bark — of a tree

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