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: ground · bat · branch · rest · capital · content · fan · charge

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. charge — a price
  3. ground — the earth
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. charge — in control
  7. capital — a city
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ground — a position
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — the amount
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. branch — a division
  20. rest — a break
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — a supporter

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