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: object · capital · game · row · trunk · sharp · field · track

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. track — a path
  9. game — wild animals
  10. object — an aim
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. object — to protest
  13. row — a line
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. row — to paddle
  17. field — farmland
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — a match
  21. capital — money
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. object — a thing
  24. field — a subject

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