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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — a match
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — to tease
  17. fall — the season
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — happy
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — wild animals
  24. capital — a big letter

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