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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. present — there
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mate — a partner
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. tube — a container
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. present — a gift
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. capital — money
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. present — the time now
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mate — a friend
  23. game — a match
  24. plane — in geometry

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