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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · bowl · hand · capital · can · wind

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a city
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. can — a tin
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. capital — money
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — to roll

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