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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. firm — decided
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. capital — money
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — a company
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. lie — to recline
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a music group
  22. firm — steady
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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