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 120 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: bark · cold · capital · bulb · bat · lash · fall · game

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — a city
  10. fall — the season
  11. capital — money
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. fall — to drop

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