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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. sharp — clever
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bark — to shout
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rush — hurry
  24. row — a line

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