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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. bound — certain
  2. ground — crushed
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cap — a lid
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — a position
  17. stand — to bear
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — for sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ground — the earth
  22. court — of a king
  23. capital — a city
  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