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: patient · deal · craft · cell · mine · bat · ball · capital

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mine — for digging
  6. deal — to handle
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. craft — boats
  11. capital — money
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. craft — a skill
  16. capital — a city
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ball — a great time
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — belonging to me

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