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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. firm — a company
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. firm — steady
  9. pit — in a race
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. firm — decided
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — for digging
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — money
  24. scale — in music

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