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: bulb · sharp · chair · pit · land · saw · capital · degree

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. capital — a city
  9. chair — a leader
  10. saw — the tool
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. pit — in a race
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. capital — money
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pit — a hole
  24. capital — a big letter

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