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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. capital — a city
  10. swing — music
  11. present — a gift
  12. ball — a dance
  13. scale — in music
  14. ball — a great time
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — size or range
  18. present — the time now
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. present — there
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cell — in a prison

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