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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. cell — in biology
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cell — a phone
  7. net — after costs
  8. capital — money
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — rain
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. wake — a trail
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — in sport
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. capital — a city

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