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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — after costs
  3. dip — to sink
  4. capital — money
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. mug — a cup
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cell — in biology
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mug — a face
  18. last — to go on
  19. chip — to eat
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. last — finally
  24. mug — to rob

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