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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rock — a stone
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. last — finally
  7. capital — a city
  8. cell — in biology
  9. field — a subject
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. last — to go on
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. rock — music
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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