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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pound — a weight
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. kick — in football
  23. bank — for money
  24. pitch — a sports field

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