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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cold — an illness
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — not warm
  8. field — a subject
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — for sport
  12. object — to protest
  13. fine — all right
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. object — a thing
  16. capital — a city
  17. board — to get on
  18. field — farmland
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. board — a committee
  22. object — an aim
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — the Cold War

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