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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — money
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tube — the underground
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. bat — the animal
  18. key — the most important part
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — in cards
  23. swing — to play on
  24. dip — to sink

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