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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a city
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. club — for golf
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — the season
  11. rest — what's left
  12. club — for dancing
  13. spring — a coil
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — money
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. court — of a king
  20. perch — the fish
  21. game — a match
  22. court — for sport
  23. capital — a big letter
  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