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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mug — a cup
  7. row — a line
  8. lie — to recline
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. last — finally
  13. mug — a face
  14. stock — shares
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. capital — money
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stock — goods
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. dip — to sink

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