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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chair — a leader
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — to wash
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. craft — boats
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. shower — rain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. craft — a skill
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — finally

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