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 · season · capital · court · cell · mine · pop · current

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cell — in biology
  4. current — of water
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. season — of the year
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pop — to visit
  14. court — of a king
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — soda
  22. current — happening now
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pop — music

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