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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — happy
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — a trail
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bound — obliged
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. content — the amount
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cell — a phone
  18. ground — a position
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. sharp — clever
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bound — certain
  24. cell — in a prison

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