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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. mate — a partner
  7. content — happy
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — a city
  12. craft — boats
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — an amount
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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