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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. drill — a practice
  4. object — a thing
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. drill — army training
  12. spell — magic
  13. object — an aim
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. object — to protest
  17. kick — in football
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bound — tied together

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