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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. court — for sport
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a word
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — a city
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. scale — in music
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. root — the cause
  20. capital — money
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. rush — hurry
  24. field — a subject

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