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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — a thing
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — a box
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — an aim
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. net — after costs
  13. bark — to shout
  14. hand — help
  15. net — for catching
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. object — to protest
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — in sport
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bark — of a tree

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