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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — certain
  3. row — a line
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. scale — in music
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. saw — the tool
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. row — to paddle
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. scale — size or range
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. mine — for digging
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pitcher — a jug

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