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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. net — in sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. net — for catching
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. net — after costs
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — child
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kid — to tease
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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