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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. content — happy
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. last — final
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — in cards
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. last — finally
  15. fine — all right
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. fine — high quality
  19. content — the amount
  20. hand — help
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — a city
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. capital — money

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