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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a city
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. drill — a practice
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. drill — the tool
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fork — in a road
  23. foot — a measure
  24. fan — a supporter

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