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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stock — shares
  6. capital — a city
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stock — goods
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. current — of water
  16. cell — a phone
  17. toast — bread
  18. bat — the animal
  19. current — electric
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cell — in biology
  22. current — happening now
  23. capital — money
  24. cap — of ice

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