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: saw · pound · file · capital · pitcher · spell · bowl · prune

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. file — a line of people
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. capital — a city
  17. pound — a weight
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. spell — a short time
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — a football final

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