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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. track — to keep track
  7. can — to be able to
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — a song
  11. rush — hurry
  12. squash — to crush
  13. can — a tin
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. squash — the sport
  18. hand — help
  19. can — a tin
  20. file — a document
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — a city
  24. hand — in cards

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