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: bowl · bulb · key · capital · bear · cold · bat · kid

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kid — child
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bat — in an idiom

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