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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. band — a music group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — to trim
  9. vault — a safe
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. band — a ring
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. season — of the year
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. season — in sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — moving air

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