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 · band · wind · vault · ground · rock · game · capital

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. capital — money
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a city
  5. vault — a safe
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a music group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bat — the animal
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rock — a stone
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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