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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. staff — employees
  4. fall — to drop
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fall — the season
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a city
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bear — the animal
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. swing — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. march — music
  24. swing — in golf

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