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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — the season
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pit — a hole
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spring — of water
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — in sport
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. row — a line
  24. net — after costs

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