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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cue — a signal
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — a partner
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — child
  12. mate — to breed
  13. file — a tool
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — help
  19. bulb — for light
  20. content — happy
  21. cue — a hint
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. file — a line of people

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