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 120 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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — help
  10. march — music
  11. craft — boats
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — a box
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a match
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. march — the month
  24. game — wild animals

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