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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. chest — of your body
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — a leader
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — a city
  21. can — a tin
  22. band — a music group
  23. bear — the animal
  24. capital — money

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