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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. hand — help
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. chair — a leader
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — after costs
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. net — for catching
  15. hand — in cards
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mark — a grade
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. net — in sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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