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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pop — music
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. object — to protest
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lean — to bend
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — to visit
  11. object — a thing
  12. fall — the season
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. object — an aim
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lean — thin
  24. rush — a thrill

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