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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wake — a trail
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. object — a thing
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. capital — a city
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. land — ground
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pit — in a race
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. land — a country
  16. bore — to drill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — to protest
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. land — to come down
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — money

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