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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. pop — music
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pop — to visit
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pop — soda
  24. cap — a lid

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