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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. face — to confront
  10. capital — a city
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. capital — money
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. saw — the tool
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bore — to tire
  22. row — a line
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. degree — from a university

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