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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — child
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. current — happening now
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. net — in sport
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — to handle
  11. current — of water
  12. net — for catching
  13. ball — a great time
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. file — a tool
  18. current — electric
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. file — a document

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