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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. last — finally
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — money
  15. mate — a friend
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. mate — a partner
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. last — final

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