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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. last — final
  3. bass — the fish
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — money
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. last — finally
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — an amount
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — to go on

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