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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hand — in cards
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. current — electric
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. current — happening now
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. current — of water
  21. file — a line of people
  22. snap — to click
  23. squash — to crush
  24. content — the amount

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