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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. capital — a city
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spring — the season
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. degree — temperature
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. file — a document
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ball — a dance
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ground — the earth
  15. foot — a measure
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ball — a great time
  21. capital — money
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. ground — a position
  24. spring — of water

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