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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. club — for golf
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. capital — a city
  5. spell — letters
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. spell — a short time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. mine — for digging
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bore — to tire
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spell — magic
  18. club — a group
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bore — to drill
  24. saw — the tool

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