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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. content — happy
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. content — the amount
  12. chair — a leader
  13. capital — a city
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. chair — a professorship

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