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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bass — the fish
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — the fruit
  13. court — of a king
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — money
  19. court — for sport
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — a safe
  22. court — of law
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — clever

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