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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — money
  6. wake — a trail
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — an amount
  15. spell — letters
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cell — in biology
  20. capital — a city
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spell — a short time

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