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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — in football
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cell — in biology
  14. foot — a measure
  15. game — wild animals
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. saw — the tool

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