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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — money
  3. wake — a trail
  4. capital — a city
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — for digging
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — a subject
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — farmland
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — an aim
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spell — letters
  19. object — a thing
  20. field — for sport
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. object — to protest
  24. coach — a trainer

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