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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bass — low music
  16. rush — hurry
  17. ground — crushed
  18. capital — money
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cap — a hat
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ground — a position
  24. bass — the fish

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