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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. net — after costs
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. net — for catching
  9. vault — a safe
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fall — the season
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. capital — a city
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. net — in sport
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kid — child
  24. date — the fruit

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