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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rash — hasty
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bass — low music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a city
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. object — a thing
  19. capital — money
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rash — a series
  24. pitcher — a jug

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