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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. key — for a lock
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. file — a tool
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. capital — money
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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