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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — help
  10. chair — a leader
  11. game — a match
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — the season
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. capital — a city
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — in cards

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