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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — to point toward
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stock — shares
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a city
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. march — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. craft — boats
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. craft — a skill
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — money
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stock — goods
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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