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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — help
  3. pitch — completely
  4. hand — in cards
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — money
  12. present — the time now
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — the tool
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. press — newspapers
  18. present — there
  19. prune — to trim
  20. press — a publisher
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. press — to push
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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