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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. track — a song
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a path
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. ball — a great time
  8. content — the amount
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. march — music
  12. ball — a dance
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. capital — a city
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — money
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. track — to keep track
  19. march — the month
  20. date — the fruit
  21. content — happy
  22. wind — moving air
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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