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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chip — for betting
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rush — hurry
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. spell — letters
  18. hand — help
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — a match
  23. spell — a short time
  24. perch — the fish

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